SAN FRANCISCO – Jorge Soler finally had his signature moment in a Giants uniform. Spencer Bivens does, too.
It all happened on Sunday, as San Francisco had arguably its best all-around game of the season and thumped the Los Angeles Angels 13-3.
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Soler’s first home run at Oracle Park since April 27 – a three-run bomb that highlighted a nine-run inning – led San Francisco’s surprisingly explosive offense. He also hit a ground-rule double and scored in the ninth inning.
Bivens, called up from the minors before the game, pitched three efficient innings and got the win in his major league debut.
Austin Slater also homered, Brett Wisely doubled twice from the leadoff spot, while Thairo Estrada, Heliot Ramos and Patrick Bailey added two hits apiece.
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That made for a very happy Father’s Day for the sellout crowd of 41,008 at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark.
The day didn’t start out on a good note. Pitcher Kyle Harrison was supposed to start but was placed on the injured list after injuring his foot throwing a bullpen session 24 hours earlier.
Erik Miller filled in for Harrison and pitched one inning as the opener before Bivens took over.
The Giants were trailing 2-0 when they had their biggest inning in more than 15 years. San Francisco batted around in the fourth inning and got production up and down the lineup, turning a tight game into a blowout.
The win prevented the Giants from being swept at home by the Angels for the first time since 2009.
At 35-37, San Francisco still is way back in the NL West but is well within the chase for a wild card spot.
Next up for the Giants is a six-game road trip that includes the historic game at Rickwood Field in Alabama against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 20.
Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s game:
The Funk Finally Ends
The Giants were up to their old tricks, getting men on base and leaving them there, before breaking the game open with a monster of a fourth inning.
San Francisco got seven hits – six with runners in scoring position – and five different players drove in runs. Estrada and Wisely knocked in two apiece, Soler plated three with his eighth home run of the year, Slater drove in two and Matt Chapman had one RBI.
Soler’s home run easily was the biggest and most significant hit of the inning. The Cuban slugger had been showing signs of coming out of his season-long slump and finally got the big hit he and everyone else had been waiting on.
It’s the fourth time since Oracle Park opened in 2000 that the Giants have scored nine runs or more in a single inning. The last time they did it was in 2008 when they hung a 10-spot on the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Bivens' Debut
After Harrison was scratched from his intended start, the Giants had to scramble for pitching help and found it in journeyman Bivens.
Making his major league debut at 29 years old, Bivens was spotless except for one pitch while keeping the Angels’ bats quiet. The right-hander retired nine of the 10 batters he faced and had four strikeouts.
Bivens’ lone mistake came in his first inning of work. After a four-pitch strikeout of Zach Neto, Bivens served up a 410-foot home run on his first pitch to Nolan Schanuel.
Bivens was sharp throughout his three innings of work. He threw 36 pitches, 27 going for strikes.
Doval Labors In The Ninth
Closer Camilo Doval has had troubles this season when pitching in non-save situations, and that was the case again Sunday.
Doval pitched the ninth inning but it was anything but easy or automatic. The flame-throwing right-hander tied a career-high by giving up four runs while allowing four hits, two walks and a wild pitch before manager Bob Melvin came out to get him after 29 pitches.
It was the lone blemish on an otherwise fantastic day from the Giants’ bullpen. Before Sunday, Doval had not allowed a run in his previous four outings.
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